What is masked aadhaar and why do you need it?- Explained

Users can share their Masked Aadhaar for eKYC in regions where giving the entire Aadhaar number is not needed because it just displays the last four digits. The disguised Aadhaar number substitutes characters such as 'XXXX-XXXX' for the first eight digits of a user's actual Aadhaar number. When people share their masked Aadhaar number with others, the receiver only sees the last four digits of the genuine Aadhaar number. According to a tweet issued on UIDAI's official Twitter account in 2018, users can choose the 'Masked Aadhaar' option when downloading their Aadhaar from the UIDAI's official website. The first eight are concealed by the security feature to protect users from fraud.